This invention relates to a garment that has fringes which may be permitted to depend from the garment, such as by hanging from the corners of the garment, while the garment is being worn by a person, and wherein means are provided for retraction and securement of the fringes at times when such hanging of the fringes would constitute an inconvenience to the person.
One form of garment, in a manner of being worm by a person, is allowed to drape over the person's shoulders, and to hang from the shoulders. For reasons of style, or to provide a ceremonial form of dress, or for practice of the ritual of a religion, by way of example, the garment may be provided with fringes that are attached to the garment, possibly at corners of the garment. In the normal wearing of the garment, the fringes hang down. By way of example, such fringes may depend from a location at the person's waist to a location alongside the person's thighs. Such fringes may be composed of one of more strands of thread, may include knots formed of the threads, and may have plain or colored threads, by way of example. While various ways of attachment of a fringe to the garment are possible, such as by sewing the fringe to the garment, or by use of a hook to attach the fringe to the garment, it is convenient, for purposes of demonstrating the present invention, to connect the fringe to the garment by passing a set of threads of the fringe through a hole formed in a corner of the garment, and then to complete the fringe by the formation of one or more knots in the threads of the fringe. Such a garment may be worn in conjunction with other garments, in which case the fringed garment may be worm outside of the other garments, or underneath one of the other garments.
A disadvantage in the use of such a fringed garment is experienced during dressing or undressing, or in a state partial dress, wherein the fringes may tangle with other articles of clothing, or may simply get in the way of a person attempting to sit down. The fringes might become soiled in the use of a restroom. Also, during laundering, the fringes may become entangled.